Drinking fountain



Nov. 28, 1967 J, HANSEL 7 3,355,107

- DRINKING FOUNTAIN Original Filed Oct. 14, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR JOHN P. HANSEL Nov. 28, 1967 R. HANSE'L 3,355,107

DRINKING FOUNTAIN Original Filed Oct. 14, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 23 VINVENTOR JOHN P. HANSEL Nov. 28, 1967 J. P. HANSEL- 3,355,107

DRINKING FOUNTAIN Original Filed Oct. l4, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEYNov. 28, 1967 J. P. HANSEL 3, ,1 7

' DRINKING FOUNTAIN I Original Filed Oct. 14, 1965 4' Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR JOHN P. HANSEL ATTORNEY 3,355,107 DRINKING FOUNTAIN John P.Hansel, Riverside, Conn, assignor to Filtrine Manufacturing Company,Waldwick, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Continuation of applicationSer. No. 505,100, Oct. 14, 1965. This application June 29, 1966, Ser.No. 563,336

7 Claims. (Cl. 239-29) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The patent applicationdiscloses two embodiments of wall mounted tamper-proof drinkingfountains. One embodiment is the usual recessed type for mounting in avertical wall, and the other is a semi-recessed type in which a portionof the bottom drain projects outwardly from the wall in which thefountain is mounted. The principal features of the disclosure are thatthe drinking fountain is vertically disposed with an opening on one sideinto which a drinker must put his face to drink, and having a low wallacross the bottom of the fountain in which there is a smooth water valveplunger in the top thereof so arranged that the drinkers hand operatingthe water valve plunger protects the face of the drinker should he bejostled while drinking.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 505,100, filed Oct. 14,1965, which was a continuation-in-part of an application, Ser. No.347,468, filed Feb. 26, 1964.

This invention relates in general to a drinking fountain, and morespecifically it relates to a wall mounted tamperproof drinking fountain.

In many public buildings and particularly hospitals, schools, penalinstitutions and psychiatric treatment facilities, there exists theproblem that some of the using public may tamper with the drinkingfountain, or at least attempt to remove parts thereof for multivariouspurposes. More specifically, there exists the dangerous problem inpsychiatric care institutions or prisons of the ever-present desire onthe part of some of the inmates to remove certain of the parts of thefountain in order to make some type of weapon.

There also exists the possibility that the person using such a fountaincould be jostled or otherwise caused to be involuntarily moved duringuse of the fountain. It is conventional that the water outlets fromdrinking fountains consist of a sizeable projecting nozzle and guardtherefor which, at least on some occasions, has caused injury to theface and teeth to some of those using the same. Moreover, often thevalve operators for the water valves have handles projecting outwardlythat are of such a substantial size that they too, under somecircumstances, can constitute a hazard.

In the recessed type of fountain, such as the conventional stainlesssteel fountain, there is also the problem of limited clearance betweenthe Water outlet and opposite wall of the recess for the drinker toplace his head easily therein without injurious contact. Because of thislimited area, the drinker has to actually aim his head at the wateroutlet or bubbler in order to avoid hitting his head on the oppositewall of the recess. Miscalculation may cause injurious contact and evenbreakage of glasses. Moreover, in the case of the conventional recessedtype of fountain located at a height convenient for children there,exists the problem of a limited clearance between the upper and lowersides of the opening for use by an adult without the possibility ofinjurious contact. Also, because of the limited clearance the drinkerwearing a hat cannot use the fountain without its prior removal.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide adrinking fountain in which the water outlet or bubbler projects verylittle and has a smooth rounded cover therefor, and is placed in such aposition that it is unlikely to come in contact with any portion of theface irrespective of any precipitated motion, to which the face may besubjected.

Further, the invention intends to provide a water valve pluger operatorpositioned in such a way that when it is in use, the hand operating itwill act as a protective cushion for the drinkers face.

A further object is to provide a drinking fountain having a perfectlysmooth face in which all of the assemblying fastenings are concealedfrom ordinary view to prevent tampering therewith.

Another object is to provide a recessed drinking fountain which has achamber opening with an overall clearance between all parts therein toallow normal movement of the head of the drinker without the possibilityof injurious contact.

Accordingly, the invention also contemplates a drinking fountain inwhich there are three plain vertically extending side walls and a bottomhaving a drain, constituting a vertical chamber open on one verticalside and into which a drinker must put his face to drink. In one wall ofthe chamber there is a water outlet arranged to dire-ct a stream ofwater to fall at the drain; the water outlet having a planar generallyflush and smoothly rounded rectangular cover through which the stream ofwater passes. Across the fourth side of the chamber there is a low wallover which the face of the drinker must project and projecting upwardthrough the top of the wall in the middle portion thereof is a smoothwater valve plunger to lie below the drinkers face when in use.Protection is provided to the drinker in the event of jostling by theplain vertical side walls, the smooth and gen erally flush cover of thewater outlet, and by the use of the drinkers hand on the plunger.

Additionally, the invention provides a Water outlet bubbler for adrinking fountain in which there are walls forming an upright cavityopen on one vertical side with a floor sloping toward one side thereof.A water jet means is arranged to direct a jet of water into the cavityin a laterally upward direction from a position in the walls of thecavity that is above the lowest point of the sloping floor. A bubblercover is fixed to the walls of the cavity so as to cover the verticalopening and it has therein an enlarged and elongated outlet openingwhich is in general aligned with the axis of the jet means so as toallow the Water jet to pass therethrough. The cover is thin andrectangular in appearance with smoothly rounded upper corners and isarranged so as to allow drainage from the sloping floor of the cavity.

Other advantages, objects and features obtained by use of the inventionwill be apparent from the following description and drawings which aremerely exemplary.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a drinking fountain made in accordance withthe present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a greatly enlarged partial vertical section taken along line3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the, nozzle block of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section of a mounting bracke taken along line 6-6of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section of a second mounting bracket taken alongline 7-7 of. FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective of an alternate embodiment of a drinkingfountain made in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section taken along line 99 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmented vertical section taken along line10-10 of FIGURE 9; and

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged exploded perspective of the bubbler shown inFIGURE 10.

A drinking fountain 10 is shown in FIGURE 1 as a recessed type which isarranged to be placed in a recess of a vertical wall (shown in phantom).Also, as shown in FIGURE 1, the fountain is fiush with the wall and hasno valve handles or other devices projecting from the wall so that thedrinker or passer-by cannot injure himself or catch his clothing. Thefountain 10 comprises a vertically elongated pan-like chamber 12, havingan opening 14 on one vertical side. Disposed at the periphery of thechamber 12 there is a vertically arranged lip portion 16 arranged tooverlap the vertical wall into which the fountain is placed. The bottomof the chamber '12 has a sloping portion 18 which is pitched toward adrain 20. Out of a side wall 22 of the chamber 12, there is a wateroutlet 24 which is arranged to project a stream of water (shown inphantom) with an initially upward trajectory to fall at the drain 20.The outlet 24 is provided with a smooth and rounded cover or lip portion26.

Across the lowest portion of the opening 14 of the chamber 12 there isdisposed a low wall 28 which provides therebehind a basin 30 above thedrain 20. The top 32 of the wall is relatively wide and is as shown inFIG- URE 2 with a slightly rearwardly downward incline. Projectingupwardly through the top of the wall 28, a smooth valve plunger 34 isarranged to be depressed and thus cause a water stream to be projectedfrom the outlet 24. The valve plunger 34 is located at the top of wall28 and not within chamber 12 to prevent any unsanitary buildup in thefountain through use of the plunger.

As shown in FIGURE 1 in phantom, when the valve plunger 34 is operated,some portion of the operators hand must cover it. Thus, when the face ofthe person to receive the drink is placed within the chamber 12, tointercept the stream of water, the hand of the operator acts as acushion for such face in the event of a jostling.

The water outlet 24 for the drinking fountain may be provided with awater outlet bubbler which comprises a vertically elongated block 38,having a side projecting nozzle portion 40, in which the fluid outlet 24is disposed. The side projecting nozzle portion 40 is arranged toproject through an opening in a side wall 42 of the chamber 12. On theside of the block 38 that is opposite from the outlet, there is an inlet44 while a fluid passage 46 is provided within the block and theprojecting nozzle portion 40, so as to connect the outlet 24 with theinlet 44. The passage 46 is conventionally made by drilling the block,and as can be seen with reference to FIGURES 4 and 5, the passage 46 ispreferably arranged with a slightly rearward component, so that theexisting water stream from the block will have not only an upwardlyinitial trajectory but a rearward component combined therewith. This canbe seen in an illustration with reference to FIG- URE 2. Further, whenthe drain is positioned rearwardly of a transverse vertical plane thatpasses through the outlet 24, the direction of the stream of watercauses the splashing to be more toward the rear of the basin 30, andminimizes the splashing that may be directed toward the person using thefountain. As shown in FIGURE 3, the water outlet bubbler 24 with theprojecting nozzle 40 is recessed in the side wall 42 of the fountain toeliminate the possibility of any injury to the mouth and teeth of thedrinker in the event of a jostling during the act of drinking.

As can be seen with reference to FIGURES 1 and 3, in particular, therelationship between the outlet 24 and the plunger 34 is such that theaverage size persons face will be slightly above the top 32 of the wallwhen drinking, and the position of the hand is such as to cushion thedrinkers face should he be jostled while drinking.

The projecting nozzle portion 40 has disposed above its periphery agroove 48. Into this groove there is fitted the edges of the cover plate26. The cover plate is arranged with rounded edges as can be seen withreference to FIG- URES 4 and 5, and is slid downwardly over the face ofthe projecting nozzle portion 40 in the grooves 48. The aperture 24Atherein is aligned with the outlet 24 so as to allow the stream to passeasily therethrough, while the dimensions of the cover plate 26 are suchas to hold the plate slightly spaced from the face of the nozzle blockprojecting portion 40. Accordingly, should for any reason the aperture24a be completely covered, the water will pass downwardly in the spacebetween the cover and the projecting portion 40. On the rear side of theprojecting portion, a fastening 50 is placed so as to hold the cover inposition. To make the unit tamper-proof, the fastening preferably has acontour for operating it which is recessed. Such a fastening is theAllen type, which requies a special wrench to turn the fastening. Themost important other factor is its location where it may not be normallyseen.

The block 49 is connected by the usual flexible tubing 52, into the bodyof a valve 34A which controls the flow of water from a source (notshown).

As shown in FIGURE 1 in phantom, in the opening 14 of chamber 12 thereis a substantial clearance between the water outlet 24 and the oppositewall of the chamber 12 for normal movement of the head of the drinkerwithout the possibility of injurious contact and for use by a drinkerwearing a hat. The drinker does not have to aim his head at the wateroutlet in order to avoid any injurious contact on the walls of thechamber 12, or in the case where the drinker is wearing glasses, thepossibility of breakage of glasses by a mere misjudgment is eliminated.Also, as shown in FIGURE 1, there is a substantial clearance between thefront ledge or wall 28 and the upper lip portion 16 of the chamber toeliminate the possibility of injury when the drinker lowers and raiseshis head in using the fountain. This feature is essential when thefountain is located at a height convenient for children to eliminate thepossibility of injurious contact to adult users. The overall clearanceis substantial in order to eliminate injurious contacts through normaluse of the fountain, as well as for the convenience of the usersthereof.

The drinking fountain illustrated herein is of the completely recessedtype and is mounted with brackets that are concealed after such mountingas shown in FIGURES 1, 6 and 7. The upper bracket support 54 shown inFIG- URE 7 consists of an offset portion 54A that is fastened into thewall by fastener 56, with there usually being two of these, one oneither side. The upper lip portion 16 of the fountain has a turned-underedge 16A, which engages the offset portion 54A and is held thereby.

The lowermost lip portion 16 of the fountain is mounted as shown inFIGURE 6, where in a bracket 60 is connected inside of the outer face ofthe wall 28 and extends downwardly, so that a fastening 62 may passtherethrough into a portion of the wall. Each bracket has providedtherein a hole 64, with there being one of these brackets on either sideof the fountain and a facing plate 66 having pins 66A arranged to enterthe aperture 64 when the plate is in position with the lower edge of theplate being fastened into an angle iron mounting bracket 68 by twofastenings 70. As before, these fastenings may be the tamper-proof typedescribed with reference to the bubbler above, so that they may not beeasily removed without a special tool.

A drinking fountain alternate embodiment of the invention is shown inFIGURES 8, 9, 10 and 11 in which similar numbers have a prefix of onehundred will be used to describe elements of the drinking fountain thatare the same or have similar functions to those parts shown in theembodiment of FIGURE 1. The fountain 110 comprises a verticallyelongatedpan-like chamber 112 having an opening 114 on one vertical side.Disposed at the periphcry of. the chamber 112 there is a verticallyarranged lip portion 116 arranged to overlap the vertical wall ontowhich the fountain is placed (as shown in phantom). The bottom of thechamber 112 has a sloping portion 118 which is pitched toward a drain120. Out of the side wall of the chamber 112 there is a water outlet orbubbler 124 which is arranged to project a stream of water (shown inphantom) with an initially upward trajectory to fall at the drain 120.The outlet 124 is provided with a thin generally rectangular smoothcover with rounded lip portions 126.

Across the lowest portion of the opening 114 of the chamber 112 there isdisposed a low wall 128 which in this embodiment projects outwardly fromthe plane of the wall to form a low shelf-like projecting portion 128Awhich encompasses the basin 130 above the drain 120. The top 132 of thewall 128 is relatively wide and, as shown in FIGURE 9, has a slightlyrearwardly downward incline. Projecting upwardly through the top of thewall 128 a smooth valve plunger 134 is arranged to be depressed and thuscase a jet of water to be projected from the outlet 124 as aforesaid.

Accordingly, as is illustrated in FIGURE 1 in phantom, when the valveplunger 134 is depressed, some portion of the operators hand must coverit. Thus, when the face of the person to receive the drink is placed ina position above the basin 130 to intercept the jet of water emanatingfrom the bubbler 124, the hand of the operator acts as a cushion for theface of the operator in the event he is jostled or subjected to anoutside force. Further, the smoothly rounded rectangular shaped cover126 projects so little from the plane of the side wall that suchjostling or outside force could not result in the drinker being damagedshould he come in contact with the cover plate.

The water bubbler or outlet 124 which is located in the side wall of thedrinking fountain 110 may be either the type previously described withrespect to the embodiment of FIGURE 1 or may comprise the typeillustrated in FIGURES and 11 wherein a back wall 80A and side walls80B, 800 along with the fioor 82 form an upright cavity 84 open on onevertical side with the floor 82 sloping toward the opening. A water jetmeans 86 is aflixed in a circular opening 82A in the floor 82 whereinthe nozzle portion 86A is screwed onto a nozzle body portion 86B andclamps therebetween, in a water sealed relationship, the floor 82. Wateris supplied to the jet means by a supply tube 88 that is connected withthe valve 134 in the manner shown in FIGURE 3. The jet means 86 isarranged such that it will direct a stream of water generally upwardlyand laterally into the cavity from a position in the cavity where it isabove the lowest point 82B of the sloping floor 82. The side walls 80Band 800 are integrally connected as shown in FIGURE 11 to a side wall ofthe drinking fountain and have projecting vertical edges 80B and 80Cwhich provide in conjunction with the edges of the drinking fountainside wall, vertical slots 85 bounding either side of the cavity opening84.

The bubbler cover 126 is fixed to the projecting walls 808 and 800 asshown in FIGURE 10, and has therein an enlarged and elongated outletopening 126A, which is in general alignment with the axis of the jetmeans 86 so that the water jet emanating from such means may beprojected upwardly and outwardly through the opening 126A. The cover 126has vertical side edges 126B and 1260 which are arranged to formgrippers so that the cover may be slid over the edges 80B, 80C of thecavity 84 and in the slots 85 with the top of the cover 126D restingacross the top bounding side of the cavity. Thus, when the cover is inplace, it is securely held over the opening 84 of the cavity. When thecover 126 is in position, a concealed fastening 150 of the so-calledAllen type is secured on the back side 1260 of the covers and into the 6e e 6 o t a th c ve 26 m y o b mo ed- Further, as the fastening is onthe back side of the bubbler plate 126, it is not likely to be seen byany user of the fountain and therefore makes the fountain tamperproof.

As can be seen with reference to FIGURES 10 and 11, the cover ischannel-shaped and stands away from the wall of the chamber 112. Thus,should for any reason the opening 126A in the bubbler be closed, thewater jet means 86 if still running, would have the water flowoutward-1y under the lower slope of the cove1'126 along the slopingfloor 82 and into the chamber 112.

The drinking fountain illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9 being of thesemi-recessed type is mounted with brackets that are concealed aftermounting in the same manner as the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1,6 and 7 so as to provide a drinking fountain in which none of thefastenings may be seen and which, therefore, is as tamper-proof as ispossible.

The particular advantage of the drinking fountain co'nfigurationsillustrated is that they have a minimum number of parts to which accessmay be obtained. All of the edges and parts are either concealed or aremade smooth and rounded. The clearance provided between all parts andedges is sutficient for normal movement of the head of the drinkerwithout injurious contact. The bubbler and valve are recessed withoutany nuts, screws or joints exposed to eliminate the possibility oftampering or removal thereof. The only operating parts that are exposedis the top of the plunger and the cover plate for the bubbler. Thegeneral configurations are such as to provide very simple and extremelysafe drinking fountains that may be used in public buildings, with aminimum of maintenance, and more importantly, a minimum of hazard of theusers thereof.

Although the various features of the invention have been shown asapplied to several embodiments of the invention, it will be evident thatchanges may be made in such details and certain features may be usedwithout others without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A drinking fountain comprising three plain vertical ly extending sidewalls and a bottom constituting a vertical chamber open on one verticalside and into which a drinker must put his face to drink, a drain insaid bottom, a water outlet in one wall arranged to direct a stream ofwater to fall toward said drain, said outlet having a planar generallyflush and smoothly rounded cover through which said stream of waterpasses, a low wall across the fourth side of said chamber over which theface of said drinker must project and a smooth water valve plungerprojecting upward through the top of said wall in the middle portionthereof to lie below said drinkers face when in use, whereby the plainvertical side walls, the smooth and generally flush cover and thedrinkers hand on said plunger provide protection in the event ofjostling.

2. A drinking fountain according to claim 1 in which said cover isremovably attached to said wall and is normally fixed thereto byconcealed fastening means.

3. A drinking fountain according to claim 1 in which said water outletis a water bubbler having walls forming an upright cavity open on onevertical side with a floor sloping toward one side thereof, said wallsof said cavity fixed in a wall of said chamber to provide said verticalcavity opening in said chamber side wall, a water jet means arranged todirect a jet of water into said cavity in a laterally upward directionfrom a position in said wall-s that is above the lowest point of saidsloping floor, a bubbler cover fixed to said walls to cover saidvertical opening and having an enlarged and elongated outlet openingtherein in general alignment with the axis of said jet means to allowsaid water jet to pass therethrough and said cover being thin andrectangular in appearance with smoothly rounded upper corners andarranged to allow drainage from said sloping floor of said cavity. 1

4. A drinking fountain according to claim 3 in which said drain isrearwardly of a transverse vertical plane passing through the outlet ofsaid nozzle block and said cover outlet is above the level of said walltop.

5. A drinking fountain according to claim 1 in which said outlet is avertically elongated block having a side projecting nozzle portion inwhich there is a fluid outlet, said portion arranged to project throughan Opening in a wall of a drinking fountain, a fluid inlet in the lowerportion of said block opposite from said outlet, a fluid passage thereinconnecting said inlet and outlet and arranged to project said stream ofwater with an initially upward trajectory, said projecting nozzleportion having a peripherally situated groove immediately adjacent theline of emergence of said projecting nozzle portion from the wall ofsaid fountain, and a rounded and smotth cover for said projectingportion having an aperture aligned with the outlet from said portion andhaving edges retained in said groove to maintain said cover slightlyspaced from said projecting nozzle portion at said outlet.

6. A drinking fountain according to claim 1 in which said fountain has alow shelf-like portion encompassing said basin and extending outwardlyfrom said opening in 8 i said pan-like chamber with said relatively widetop wall having said valuve plunger positioned therein.

7. A drinking fountain according to claim 1 in which there issubstantial clearance between all walls and water outlet in said chamberto allow normal movement of the head of the drinker before, during, andafter the act of drinking without injurious contact.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,207,661 12/ 1916 Taylor 239291,349,775 8/1920 Lyman et al 23929 1,357,436 11/ 1920 Armstrong 239291,497,076 6/1924 Emmett 23928 1,959,366 5/1934 Kellogg 23929 2,033,0833/1936 Roberge 23929 2,275,200 3/1942 Purdom 239-29 FOREIGN PATENTS496,030 1 1/1938 Great Britain. 735,238 8/1955 Great Britain.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner.

V. M. WIGMAN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A DRINKING FOUNTAIN COMPRISING THREE PLAIN VERTICALLY EXTENDING SIDEWALLS AND A BOTTOM CONSTITUTING A VERTICAL CHAMBER OPEN ON ONE VERTICALSIDE AND INTO WHICH A DRINKER MUST PUT HIS FACE TO DRINK, A DRAIN INSAID BOTTOM, A WATER OUTLET IN ONE WALL ARRANGED TO DIRECT A STREAM OFWATER TO FALL TOWARD SAID DRAIN, SAID OUTLET HAVING A PLANAR GENERALLYFLUSH AND SMOOTHLY ROUNDED COVER THROUGH WHICH SAID STREAM OF WATERPASSES, A LOW WALL ACROSS THE FOURTH SIDE OF SAID CHAMBER OVER WHICH THESURFACE OF SAID DRINKER MUST PROJECT AND A SMOOTH WATER VALVE PLUNGERPROJECTING UPWARD THROUGH THE TOP OF SAID WALL IN THE MIDDLE PORTIONTHEREOF TO LIE BELOW SAID DRINKER''S FACE WHEN IN